A Mother's Tears
by Kitty O
Summary: Oneshot. Chloe sees her mother crying and wants to know why... So she asks Uncle Merlin. AU after season 3. Future!Fic oneshot series. Order of series: A Normal Day in Camelot, Twins are Twice as Nice, A Mother's Tears, Warlock Takes a Wife, A Royal Favor.


_A/N: I know, I promised Hunith this chapter, but I changed my mind. I've been telling a secret about what I want to happen in every one-shot, (Lexi's was Lancelot and her mother, Uther and Tom's was Morgana's story) and this one was to be Hunith's story, revealing how Merlin finally told Arthur what all of us have been dying for Arthur to find out… the magic. _

_But that didn't work out, thanks to those stupid plot bunnies. So here you go. Chloe's… and it has to do with Gwen. This one is going to be more of a flashback story._

_By the way, I think of Lexi and Chloe are somewhere between 4-6, and Tom, Will, and Uther about 11 or 12. I think of Hunith as maybe 15 or 16? Perhaps even 17? Well I'll decide when I get to her. And, by the way, what do English people call their parents? Mum and…? It's so strange to have Merlin's kids calling him 'Father'._

_Enjoy, but I didn't really like this story…Tell me what you think. Do you hate it?_

A Mother's Tears

"Uncle Merlin…"

Merlin froze. He hadn't been a child in quite a while now, but he still recognized the voice of Overwhelmed Youth when he heard it. And when he heard it in the form of a young girl's voice, calling him Uncle Merlin, there was only one person it could be.

"Chloe?" he called, turning around. He didn't see her. "Chloe, where are you?"

"Here…" came the nasal reply.

Merlin took a step or two forward… There she was, hidden in a little niche in the wall. Her dark brown skin was easy to see through the thin white, gauzy silk that hung up, covering the hiding spot. It was a good spot for a young child.

_Or a secretive warlock,_ he found himself thinking, remembering the times that he had utilized the same spot.

"Chloe?" he said softly, seeing that she is crying into her hands. "What is it?"

She looked up at him, her brown eyes, so much like her mother's, red-rimmed. "I don't know… what… to… do," she gasped, trying desperately to speak through sobs.

"What is it?"

"My…" gasp "Moth…er!"

Merlin's eyebrows came together. Gwen? "What is it? Chloe, is she hurt? Sick?"

Chloe sobbed louder.

"Chloe, answer me," ordered the Court Magician.

She shook her head. "She's _crying_."

Oh. Merlin sighed. There was no life-or-death situation, then. "Perhaps she got in an argument?" he suggested sagely. He wondered if Arthur and Gwen had had a little lover's quarrel. They were rather prone to those, as Arthur was so hard-headed and Gwen was so often _right. _

But Chloe shook her small head. "No," insisted the miniature version of Queen Guinevere. "It was a _re…really _big deal." She hiccupped and drew in her breath sharply. "She… she said 'Ygraine'. Who's Ygraine?"

Merlin took a step back. _Ygraine? Is it… is it that day already?_ Merlin had forgotten. But Gwen was a mother, and mothers did not forget that sort of thing. Thinking about it, Merlin realized that he hadn't seen Arthur all day… and wondered if, perhaps, fathers didn't forget that sort of thing either…

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Chloe had been looking for a playmate. Uther and Tom were still punished because of something that happened last week… She wasn't quite sure what it was, but it must've been bad, because her father was quieter than usual, and fought with her mother for days. Merlin, a man she was so close to that she called him _Uncle_, went about with a look on his face like he was thinking so hard that his brain would explode. Lexi genereally took her cues from her father, so she, too, went around as though her head would explode.

That last thing worried Chloe. Your head really could explode if you thought too hard; and she knew it was true. She had proof. Tom had said so, to Uther. Only Hunith and Will seemed completely unaffected by whatever it was, so Chloe had clung to them like a puppy to its owner for almost a week.

But Hunith was a teenaged girl; she could not be expected to care about the same things as Chloe, and she was beginning to be annoyed with the little princess. And Will was always busy, so a small girl was just a nuisance for him. They needed her to go away.

Desperate, Chloe was going to her mother. With the lack of manners that make children her age so adorable, Chloe didn't knock… Just barged in.

She wished she hadn't, because her mother was stretched out on the bed, crying. Sobbing. Big, loud sobs that tore at a person's chest when someone was really in despair.

"_Ygraine…" _she heard her mother mutter. She didn't realize her youngest daughter stood watching her.

And then Chloe turned and ran, right to the familiar niche that, to her knowledge, had never been used for anything but a shelter where a royal child could cry undisturbed. She cried, then. She didn't like when her mother was upset… It was _her mother. _Mothers… they weren't the kind you expected to find wailing as though they were going to die. Mothers were strong. They were stability.

Chloe shook her head. Something was wrong with her mother, something terribly wrong. She needed answers. She needed someone to tell her that it would be alright, to tell her what hurt her mother so bad.

And, to Chloe's limited knowledge, there was only one man who knew everything… other than her father, of course.

At that moment, that other man passed by.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

"…And that's all," finished Chloe solemnly. Her wide eyes revealed to the man crouching over her that she thought her little narrative very bad indeed. "Why was she crying?"

Merlin bit his lip. "Chloe, sometimes things happen to grownups that upset them, even if they happened years ago. Sometimes things hurt for years when you are an adult."

Chloe's little brow creased. "Mother's upset because she's an adult?"

Merlin's mouth twitched into a smile as he sat down on the floor next to her. "Not quite."

"Well, why's she upset? Was it something I did? I can make it better…"

Merlin shushed her and patted her on the head. "Chloe, if I tell you, you can't mention it to your mother."

She looked confused. "A secret?"

"No. But it would upset your mother to talk about it, so you won't, okay?"

"What about Father?"

"I don't imagine he'll want to speak of it either. So, no, not unless he brings it up first."

She looked unsure, wringing her hand together as she answered, "I'm not so sure, Uncle Merlin…"

"You have to promise. Or I'll put some kind of spell on you!"

She looked startled for a moment, but then realized he was kidding with her, and laughed. "I promise. Not unless they bring it up first. Now tell me."

"Yes, Highness," he said, standing up. "But first, shouldn't we go somewhere better for talking? I'm getting too big to hide in the little corners, you know."

She tried another smile and let him help her to her feet, doing her best not to sniffle anymore.

Merlin held the curtain aside for her, like a man does for a real lady. "It began," he told her, "the morning when your mother discovered she was going to have a baby."

"Tom and Uther?"

"Well, no."

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Actually, the story's beginning was really the day before that.

Lancelot dropped by Merlin's house for a friendly visit that knight, even though it was freezing cold outside and in. He was a good friend like that. Merlin nodded at him as he came in, shoes making a sharp sound against the stone.

"Ever heard of lighting a fire?" suggested Lance.

Merlin smiled at him. "I've been working all day. I'm just about to start one, though. Thanks for stopping by… Was there anything you wanted?"

Lancelot looked at him for a minute, confused. "You asked me to come."

"You want something to eat or… I did?"

"Merlin, King Arthur must be working you harder than I thought if you don't even remember…"

"No, no," said Merlin, shaking his head. "I remember now, I'm sorry… I wanted to talk to you, didn't I?"

"Yes," agreed Lancelot, sitting down on a chair sitting near the door and looking around. "Merlin, do you know that your room is cleaner than the King's?"

"That's because I'm never home," said Merlin. "Do you want some dinner?"

"No, I have some waiting at home. What was it you wanted to talk about?"

Merlin sighed and used magic to pull up another chair. Lancelot smiled. By now, Merlin was very comfortable using magic around Lance and Gwaine… But he'd yet to tell the royal couple. He said he would confess 'soon', but that 'Arthur wasn't ready'… or something like that. Lance knew the truth. He was scared.

Merlin sat heavily, sighing again. "There's something I want to tell you… for Arthur."

Now Lance was confused. "He can't tell me himself?"

"I'm not speaking for Arthur. I'm just telling you this for his sake. And yours. Everybody's."

Lancelot had the sudden feeling that he knew what this was about; Merlin saw it in his face. "What d'ya mean?" he mumbled, looking down.

"Stop, Lancelot."

Lance looked up. Merlin was looking him straight in the eye, his face solemn. "Stop?"

"Yes. About Gwen. Stop pining for her."

"I'm not…!"

"Yes, you are, Lance. I can tell. She can tell. Camelot can tell. If Arthur can, I don't know, but I'm sure he feels something."

Lancelot grumbled, "I can't help how I feel, Merlin. I'm not doing anything wrong."

Merlin stood up. "You aren't?" Lance glared at him, but Merlin took no notice, continuing, "Because when you are the last person to speak to Gwen everyday, when you smile at her all the time, when you make an effort to always stand next to her and talk to her… There's something wrong. She feels the pressure, Lance. I realize you can't help how you feel. But you are making her uncomfortable."

Lancelot didn't know how to react, so he felt himself begin to sneer. "And your job is to protect your Queen from discomfort."

Merlin's face hardened. "My job, Lancelot, is to protect my friends from discomfort. From being hurt. _All of them._"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Lancelot. What would happen if, thanks to your attentions, Gwen fell for you again?"

"Are you suggesting…"

"Do you realize what that would do to her? To you? In the long run, to Arthur? Do you really want to hurt everyone so badly?" Merlin's voice was strong and wise, but quiet, and Lance found it hard to take offense. "Because if you do, Lance, just keep doing what you are doing."

"Merlin… I can't help myself."

"I know. It's hard. And Lancelot, I'm sorry."

Lancelot nodded numbly and slowly got to his feet, walking away. He hadn't realized it was so obvious. He hadn't realized that she'd realized. Merlin knew that, and he felt bad. But he wouldn't take back what he'd said. Arthur and Gwen's happiness came first.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

For obvious reasons, Merlin didn't start the story there.

"Who was it, then?" Chloe wondered.

Merlin wasn't going to tell her just yet, though. "I remember it very well, that morning, because Arthur came running into my room, yelling something."

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Merlin had been half-asleep and confused. Usually he was up before Arthur, naturally, starting on his chores and waiting as long as possible to knock on his door with breakfast so that the King could have a few extra minutes to sneak to where Gwen was and tell her good morning.

But this morning, Arthur was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, hollering happily for Merlin to get up, and _now_.

Merlin's eyes flew open and he sat up, his mind jumping around like a nervous hare… _Bandits. War. Uther… no, not Uther…_

"_What?" _he yelled.

"I'm a father! I mean, not yet! I mean, I will be! Merlin!" Arthur's words were so garbled that Merlin just stared at him blankly, unable to understand… What was Arthur going on about?

"Arthur, calm down, what is it?"

"It's wonderful!"

It was a little early to be drunk, thought Merlin, but why not? He hadn't seen Arthur so excited since the day Gwen accepted his proposal.

"Arthur," he yawned, getting out of his bed sleepily, "You're just a bit drunk. Go to bed, I'll explain to Gwen…"

That's when Arthur grabbed him up in a gigantic bear hug.

"Whoa!" cried Merlin, momentarily thinking that Arthur was trying to crush him, and then recognizing the hug… and being even more alarmed. "Arthur, I take it back; you're _very _drunk! Let me go!"

Arthur released him, grinning wildly. "The rabbit died!"

Merlin froze. "The… rabbit…"

"It died, Merlin! And Gwen… she's been feeling sick… and…"

Merlin suddenly felt lighter inside, a little like laughing. "And you're going to be a father."

"Yes! Ha-ha!" Arthur laughed wildly and hugged Merlin again. Merlin grinned. Then he detracted himself, left Arthur there, grinning at Gaius, and went to tell his Queen just how happy he was about it. On the way, he passed Lancelot, and his smile faded.

He'd forgotten about Lancelot.

The next day, Lance went on some sort of quest. For a couple of months. Merlin was sure that he wouldn't be back until he just couldn't think up any more reasons… and until he'd prepared himself mentally.

It was seven months later when Merlin was woken up again in much the same way, this time by Lancelot.

Merlin's eyes flickered open and took in the dark man standing over his bed, yelling at him.

"You're back," he grumbled. "It's been long enough."

"Merlin! Get up!"

"I'm up. Hello. Now let me go back to sleep…"

"It's Gwen!" he hollered, panicked.

Of course Merlin sat up immediately. "What did you do?" he cried, his mind flying to all the scenes he'd been dreading… Gwen kneeling on the floor, crying her heart out, Arthur yelling, hand on his sword… Lancelot fighting with him, Gwen screaming… and the baby. The baby!

"She's ill!"

Well, that was not as bad as Merlin thought, but it wasn't good either. "How ill?"

"Arthur said she may be dying!"

Merlin got to his feet. "What? So suddenly?"

"She said she wasn't feeling good last night… Merlin, I just got back, and she can't even stand… She has fever, and shaking…"

"Oh, no," whispered the warlock, pale.

"You have to save her!"

"Save her? I… I don't even know what's wrong with her."

"You have magic! You can save her!"

Merlin blanched. "I can't stop her from dying if she's that close…"

"You have to do something! Surely…"

Merlin shook his head. "It might… it might hurt the baby. She wouldn't want that."

Lancelot looked like he hadn't slept all night. His face showed evidence of tears. "Maybe it wouldn't," he whispered.

"Any life-saving magic is risky."

"Surely… surely there are times when it won't do any harm? Like medicine… just like medicine…" begged Lance in a whisper.

Merlin nodded. "Yes, but…"

"Merlin, you told me about the time you killed Nimueh and saved Gaius. If… if you can choose, then why not just…?" At Merlin's blank look, he continued, "give me the sickness?"

"Lancelot…"

"All I'm asking is you try to heal her. And if someone has to die… I'm right there."

"Lancelot!" Merlin was horrified.

"Try, at least?"

"Well…" Merlin bit his lip._ I have to. Or Gwen may die._

A minute later, Merlin and Lancelot burst into Gwen's chambers, where a red-eyed Arthur kneeled by his wife's side. If the sight hurt Lance, he didn't show it.

"Merlin…" whispered Arthur. "I think she's dying… like… Like my mother…"

"Arthur, get out."

"What? No, I'm not leaving her side."

"Arthur," repeated Merlin, trying to look comforting. "Get. Lance here… he learned some kind of medicine when he was gone. He wants to see if it can help."

"Really?" said Arthur, his voice fragile but hopeful. The look in his eyes was heart-breaking, and Merlin wanted to give him more hope… but he couldn't. Arthur looked at Lance with new eyes.

Lancelot nodded.

"Out," said Merlin. "You need to get out."

Arthur kissed Gwen quickly and stood. "She's asleep."

"Perfect. Out, Arthur, now."

Arthur obeyed. He wasn't around to see Merlin kneel on the floor where the King had just been, raise his hand, and begin to speak in another language.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

"What… what happened?"

By now they sat in Merlin's home while Merlin's wife cooked in the kitchen, listening in.

"Well…"

"Merlin!" came the warning voice from the kitchen. _Don't tell her the whole story, _warned Katherine's melodic voice.

Merlin didn't plan on it. "I healed her," he told little Chloe. "That's all."

"But what about Sir Lancelot? And the baby?"

"Nothing happened to them. I just healed your mother."

He didn't mention the monster.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

The magic that dribbled out of Merlin's fingers, into the Queen, stopped. His eyes went wide as he took in the sight in front of him... This was bad...

"What…?" whispered Lancelot.

"Oh, no," gasped Merlin, standing up. He backed up.

From the Queen's unconscious form there rose a monster, entirely comprised of a gray vapor.

It roared. Merlin gaped. The size and shape of a wild, shaggy dog, it floated above the Queen's body and seemed to sniff the air curiously. And it roared again.

Suddenly the whole room was a hurricane as goblets blasted from their places and onto the floor, spilling wine. The queen's bed sheets flew off of her body, onto the floor, and skidded until it hit the wall. Lancelot and Merlin fell back a few steps, closing their eyes against the buffeting wind. Gwen didn't move.

"What is it?" yelled Lancelot over the loud sound of an angry wind.

"Magic," Merlin shouted back, suddenly understanding that the illness had not been a natural one. "Someone tried to kill Gwen!"

A large ball of black gas poured from the creature's mouth, hovering in the air for a moment, and then rocketing towards Merlin.

Merlin jumped out of the way, hitting the floor hard and rolling back to his feet again. "But I think they'll settle for killing us!"

Lance stared in terror as another ball of death came shooting towards him, but he was in the corner and had no where to jump. He closed his eyes, missing the ball suddenly evaporate into nothing when Merlin's own magic hit against it.

"It's not very powerful," Merlin called across the room, painfully getting to his feet and nearly tripping over an overturned table. "My magic destroyed that."

"It's powerful enough to kill us all!"

Merlin tried to make his way to Lancelot, but the wind blasted him against the door, and his head banged against it.

_Ow… _he thought dizzily, the world spinning, and barely taking in the sounds he heard on the other side… Arthur was obviously trying to get back in.

Turning so his back was to the door, Merlin took a deep breath and tried to focus. Any minute now, Arthur would push the door open in spite of the wind, and the monster needed to be gone by then.

He pushed his hand out, but it was slapped back to his side.

Okay, then, he'd do it without hand movements. "_Dinistrio!" _he yelled, and felt the magic burst from his fingers wildly, a dazzling white spell that flew through the air, unaffected by the winds, to the creature that reared its ugly head…

It hit the creature…

Merlin's head throbbed, and he fell to his knees, then all fours, gasping. Everything was fuzzy… He dry-heaved a bit, his head throbbing.

Did the wind stop?

Did Arthur and some knights burst into the room, yelling?

"Merlin?"

"The room! Lancelot, what happened?"

"This is sorcery!"

"Sire, Merlin, over here."

"Guinevere! She's awake! Leon, look, she's up!"

"Merlin? Merlin, get up. It's okay. What happened?"

"Arthur, I think I can honestly say I found out what was wrong with Gwen…"

Someone brought him to his feet and sat him on a chair, asking him questions. Merlin's head still hurt, but the nausea gave way to clear thought, and he could see Arthur's blue eyes boring into his own.

"Merlin, you and Lancelot have a lot of explaining to do."

Merlin smiled. "I told you he learned some medicine while he was gone."

\-_-BREAK-_-/

"Your father named the baby Ygraine, after your grandmother, when she was born. And we caught the sorcerer who was trying to take over Camelot by killing Gwen. He wasn't hard to catch."

"What happened to the baby?"

Merlin looked sad. "When she was just two, she died."

Chloe's face fell, and Merlin felt guilty. He didn't want to be telling her this. It wasn't his place… But someone had to. Uther and Tom already knew, after all, because Arthur had told them. But he couldn't ask Gwen, a mother, to do the same for Chloe, not right now.

"Why didn't you save her?" asked Chloe.

"Oh, Chloe, it was an accident. Your sister ran away and the wagon man just didn't see her until he was real close, and when he stopped the horses so quickly, the whole thing turned over…" Merlin took a deep breath, wiping tears out of his eyes. Ygraine had practically been his niece, even if she had died many years ago.

Katherine came from the kitchen to wrap her arms around her husband's neck and hold him.

Chloe studied this with clear eyes, because, after all, you can't miss what you never had. "And today…?"

"Ygraine's birthday," said Katherine softly.

Chloe stood and was out of the door in an instant, her young feet pattering softly against the floor as she ran.

Merlin tried to stand, but Katherine pushed her down, a softness in her dark eyes as she whispered, "Let her be, dear."

\-_-BREAK-_-/

"Mother?" came the small peal of a child's voice.

Gwen looked up from her bed, face still wet with tears, and saw her small daughter standing in the door, eyes wide.

"Chloe!" she said, wiping away the tears. "What is it, dear?"

"It's you, Mother," said the child, and in a flash she was across the room, buried in her mother's arms.

Gwen held her tight and buried her approaching-middle-aged face into her young daughter's hair, glad that she had such a sweet daughter, even if she would never stop missing the one she lost.

Chloe felt tears fill her own eyes as she realized the depth of her mother's grief. But, child-like, she knew what Gwen had forgotten… That a loving little girl's hug will fix anything.

"I love you, Mother," she said, because her mother needed to know.

"I love you," responded the Queen, and held her daughter tight.

That's where Arthur found them when he came back from a strangely unsuccessful hunt, a hunt that he had insisted he go on alone. He smiled gently, his own eyes just a little red (obviously from the sun while he was hunting). Gwen was holding Chloe, who had begun to doze, close. Gwen was not crying anymore.

\-_-BREAK-_-/

Merlin had forgotten one thing. He'd forgotten to tell Chloe the one last part of the story, but it was still up there in his brain. He remembered it clearly, the tension, the beginning of a reveal that he'd been waiting for a long time…

_It was later the same day, and Merlin was walking around, but Gwen was still stuck in bed and not happy about it. She insisted on seeing Merlin, seeing him right then, and alone. _

_Not wanting to upset his newly healthy wife, Arthur let her have her way. _

_The first thing she said to Merlin was, "I know."_

_Merlin was bewildered. "What?" _

"_About you. I saw you. You saved my life."_

"_I…"_

"_Magic's against the law, Merlin," she whispered, her voice cracking in exhaustion. "You could get killed."_

"_I know, Gwen, it isn't my fault."_

_Her face softened. "Of course, it never is. Don't, Merlin, don't look so worried. I wouldn't tell Arthur for the world."_

_He was surprised. "Really? But… but I lied."_

"_Yes, you aren't getting away with that… I want to hear it all, from the very beginning, the true story. What really happened all those times when nothing could be explained. It was you, wasn't it? You're the reason only one sorcerer has been killed in all the time since Arthur became King."_

"_I am," he admitted, daring to take his eyes from the floor. _

"_Well? Start talking, Merlin."_


End file.
